EDITORIAL: NASCAR’s engine needs overhauling
Published: November 24, 2009
Updated: November 25, 2009
Another NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup has come and gone, and apparently not as many of us noticed as we have in previous years.
While Jimmie Johnson was cruising to his fourth straight Chase title, many television viewers were changing channels. Ratings for nine of the 10 season-ending Chase races were down from 2008. The Nov. 1 race at Talladega was the only race weekend to see a slight increase in ratings over 2008. While NASCAR remains a popular diversion for millions of fans, the sport appears to be in the midst of a significant decline in interest. Looking at the NASCAR season overall, ratings on ESPN held steady from 2008, but ratings on Fox and TNT dropped dramatically.
The decline in TV ratings is especially troubling for NASCAR because the sport has also seen a dramatic drop in attendance. Despite drops in ticket prices throughout the circuit to help offset a poor economy, there were tens of thousands of empty seats at races from Charlotte to Michigan to California this season. NASCAR just isn’t what it was at its crest of popularity at the turn of the century. The cars are different from days of old in that they’re all the same. The drivers are different from days of old in that they’re of the same mold.
The racing is different from days of old in that there doesn’t seem to be as much excitement. In days of old, it seemed someone was getting upside down every weekend. These days, someone gets upside down maybe once, twice a year. The geography is different in that NASCAR greedily decided some seven years ago to move away from its southern roots by giving more races to places like California in hopes of bigger paydays.
Of course, a lot of the above has alienated many hardcore NASCAR fans. Some, in fact, have sworn off NASCAR forever and now get their racing fix at local tracks. If we were on the board at NASCAR, these are some changes we’d seriously consider:
—Give a second race back to Darlington Raceway. The Lady in Black came within a few thousand of selling out its Mother’s Day weekend race, which is more than a lot of tracks on the circuit can boast this year.
—Scrap the Chase. If it hasn’t been good for the sport in its first five years, it’s never going to be good for the sport.
—Scrap the current points system in favor of a system that places far more emphasis on winning each week than consistency. That might make drivers try much harder to get to the front instead of laying back for points, which would make for more action on the track.
—Give us a NASCAR Super Bowl at the end of the season. Have a regular season points champion. Then for the final race of the season, put the top 20 drivers in points on the high-banked oval at Bristol, $10 million in a souped-up Brinks truck for the pace car, and have the winner take all.
Just imagine the excitement, ticket sales and TV ratings for an event like that each year.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
This is too good! Man, they don’t make ‘em like you anymore. OK, Paluka, let’s have a little third grade review. Words ending “ion” are nouns that indicate an act or a process of becoming or attaining some state. There’s nothing “plural” about the phrase “stupidification of our culture,“ especially since culture is singular. Just for a little context, here are some instances of the word’s use:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008073335_pitts27.html
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2005/10/does-stupidification-of-schools-serve.html
http://rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com/2007/04/stupidification-of-america.html
http://www.amazon.com/Endarkenment-The-Stupidification-of-America/lm/R1CG2KDXUB29HL
Richard, you are not hard to lose. Not in the plural means stupid is used in the singular. I do not care who used the word in the plural, it does not exist. So much for EUBONICS.
Richard, c’mon now tell the truth. Aren’t you actually enjoying the responses you’ve been getting? These reactions are a source of entertainment that can’t be bought. Know what I mean…
OK, you’ve lost me now. What’s supposed to be plural?
Richard: Just for you. This has been previously pointed out, but once again, you prove the “stupefication” of YOUR culture every time your lips move. Or fingers in this case. Funny thing, Neither Webster or Oxford American agree with your definition of your made up word that does not exist in the plural. So get down off your high horse and mount a burro instead.
I apologize. I should have realized that you guys have to look up most of the words you read in the dictionary. I wish I could claim credit for coining “stupidification” but I confess I borrowed the word from William Safire. It’s a great word though. I could have used “stupefaction,” but I was not trying to say that our culture is stupefied (although that certainly may be the case), but that is becoming increasingly stupid.
They should use the 1979 rule book!!!
Richard S.~~~ “What further evidence would you possibly need of the stupidification of our culture?“
Well, let’s see now. How about your recent posts for starters!!? As you have shown, a broad vocabulary doesn’t adequately compensate for an obvious lack of intelligence.
I would have to agree. If you are tired of the NASCAR scene, support your local race track. Dillon Motor Speedway, Myrtle Beach Speedway, and Florence Speedway. Put your hard-earned dollars into the local economy. Most of these guys have their cars built by a local shop or build the car themselves. The owners are local and put the money they earn at their “job” (the track) back into our local economy. They even put on one HECK of a show!
Richard S. Appears as if some of the “STUPIDIFICATION” you rant about may have rubbed off on you. After searching through Webster’s [and] Oxford American dictionaries i find no such word exists. As for your condescending opinion, try expressing it to some of the NASCAR fans .If you do, we probably won’t hear from you until after recovery.
Advertisement